Cavs: J.B. Bickerstaff wants Lauri Markkanen to be multi-faceted

To me and I’m sure the majority of Cleveland Cavaliers fans, the offseason sign-and-trade acquisition of Lauri Markkanen appeared to be a perimeter shooting boost, first and foremost.

Even with an overall production dip, because of a number of reasons, and a trade deadline acquisition of Nikola Vucevic had some to do with it later on, Markkanen did still affect games from three-point range for the Chicago Bulls.

Then, he connected on 40.2 percent of his 5.8 attempts per outing from three for Chicago, and I’d imagine he could be a go-to catch-and-shoot target for the Cavaliers from here. I’d expect that to be off the bench, at least for next season often, but regardless, he’ll get tons of opportunities.

Markkanen should provide a heck of a spot-up/ball-swing threat for players such as Darius Garland and Collin Sexton, to go with Ricky Rubio. Markkanen is a guy that can knock down deep looks off movement and can create for himself some too, though, and in secondary transition, he’ll be a capable driving threat.

Additionally, recently, Cavs head coach J.B. Bickerstaff did first mention his shooting reputation, but also touched on how Markkanen is more than a spot-up player, via Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com.

"“That’s who he is,” Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff said of Markkanen’s reputation. “I think what we’re going to see, and he’ll be able to show, is that he’s more than just a spot shooter. He can catch and shoot off the move, but he also has an offensive game where you can give him the ball in isolation situations, and he can go get you a bucket there too.'”"

Bickerstaff did state, via Fedor, how the spacing element from Markkanen, which is similar to Kevin Love, should help other guys. Fedor did stress how Love’s injury issues in recent seasons, though, have hampered his ability to provide nearly the effect he could have.

Markkanen has had injury problems himself, but not quite those of Love, and he is far younger, and along with that, Bickerstaff did emphasize how he wants Markkanen to be looking to create in other ways, aside from just ball-swings/spot-ups, via Fedor.

"“I don’t want to make him feel like he’s just got to stay behind that line and hunt them,” Bickerstaff said. “I want him to play basketball and I want him to take all shots.”‘"

Cavs: Bickerstaff is stressing for Markkanen to be multi-faceted.

To be clear, Markkanen will get a bunch of threes up per game, and he’s averaged 6.1 per contest in his career, and Bickerstaff and the team have reportedly been stressing how the Cavs need to be seeking out/attempting more triples.

As Bickerstaff’s comments above via Fedor did highlight, however, Cleveland finding ways to get Markkanen catch-and-shoots via movement needs to be a point of emphasis, too. I’d imagine via drags/double drags, pindowns, and relocation, that could help in that realm, and he’s a quality trailing threat in transition, too.

The former Bull has shown that he can create for himself some as a driving presence as well, though. That can help counter hard closeouts in settled situations, where he can at times apply rim pressure and/or use change-of-pace/his high release to get to shots from 6-10 feet, which can make him more difficult to guard.

Plus, while I wouldn’t anticipate it being at a high volume, we could occasionally see Markkanen as a roller in sequences with Darius Garland or Ricky Rubio, where he can get to interior looks from diving. But I’d expect that to more so be with the likes of Jarrett Allen getting a rest on the bench, as an aside.

Lastly, as we previously alluded to, and to add to Markkanen highlighting how hard it can be for defenses to contain offenses in transition, via Fedor, of which includes secondary transition, too, Markkanen could be another transition threat.

That could again be as a trailer, a driver at times, and I’d also think that if he is hustling as a cutter, that could lead to deliveries to him from Garland, Rubio, Kevin Love or even Evan Mobley, who has guard-like qualities with his vision, especially.

Anyway, it’s apparent that Bickerstaff and company are preaching for Markkanen to be multi-faceted, which is good to know.

Granted, although I could feasibly foresee Markkanen starting the season a bit slow, with a new situation/teammates in mind, he was on fire in the Wine and Gold Scrimmage on Saturday, and with his skill level, he could still start off well. And for a brief side note, while he and Allen were reportedly dealing with seemingly minor ankle ailments, he seems all squared away, and I’d expect to get meaningful preseason action.